Once again the Indian National Awards shone the spotlight on movies from the southern states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The winners represented tales noted for their poignancy or unusual fare.
Malayalam actress Surabhi C.M. heads the list with her Best Actress award for Minnaminunge, directed by Anil Thomas. This family drama centers around a single mother. What impressed the jury was her brilliant portrayal of the feelings of a mother in a deplorable condition.
The second award for a Malayalam film went to scriptwriter Syam Pushkaran for the screenplay of Maheshinte Prathikaram. Pushkaran’s screenplay interweaves the various idiosyncrasies of a small town near Idukki, cited the jury. [For tabloid!’s review, click here.]
Pushkaran’s screenplay won him the Kerala state award last month.
This film also won a national award in the Best Malayalam film category, endorsing once again the Kerala state award. Pushkaran said the idea for his story came from the life of his father’s friend in 1984.
The third Malayalam film to win an award is Kaadu Pookkunna Neram. Sound designer Jayadeva Chakkadath won the Best Audiography award ‘for bringing out the feel of the forest and tribal hamlet through various natural and other elements,’ said the jury. It was the second win for Chakkadath as well for the film after the Kerala state awards last month.
The Mohan Lal film Pulimurugan fetched stunt director Peter Hein the Best Action Direction award, being introduced for the first time this year.
Lal also took home a Special Jury Award for his work in Pulimurugan, Janatha Garage and Munthiri Thalikkimbol.
Debutant filmmaker Soumya Sadanandan got a special mention in the non-feature section for her documentary Chembai-My Discovery of a Legend. This Malayalam documentary captures the life in Chembai (a village of Palakkad), which resonates with music, and is the home of the legendary Carnatic singer Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavathar.
In Tamil cinema, veteran lyricist Vairamuthu won the Best Lyricist award for the seventh time. He wrote lyrics for the song, Endha Pakkam from the film Dharmadurai.
Producer-writer G. Dhananjayan won in the Best Film Critic category; it’s his second National Award.
Tamil film 24, a fantasy film , was appreciated in two categories. Cinematographer S. Thirunavukarasu won for Best Cinematography and the Best Production Design award to Subrata Chakraborthy, Shreyas Khedekar and Amit Ray.
Joker, a political satire directed by Raju Murugan won for the Best Tamil Film. The jury praised its tragic and poetic narrative of an individual’s struggle for a basic need of day to day life with an adequate dressing of sarcasm. The song Jasmine E from this film sung by Sundharayyar won him the Best Male Playback Singer award.
Kannada composer Bappu Padmanabha won the Best Music Director award for his work in the film Allama. The second award for this film went to N.K. Ramakrishnan in the Best Make-Up category. The third award went to director Nikhil Manjoo for his film Reservation in the Best Kannada Film category.
Telugu cinema had its share of three awards.
Santhamanam Bhavati directed by Satish Vegesna was recognised as Best Popular Film.
Director Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam won the Best Screenplay award for the film Pelli Choopulu.
Raju Sundaram won Best Choreographer award for the film Janatha Garage.
Last but not the least are child actors, Adhish Praveen for the Malayalam film Kunju Daivam and Manohara K for the Kannada film Railway Children.
